By Paulo Coelho
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian
With Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

Tuesday, September 10, 2013. 7:30 PM.

A fable about undauntingly following one's dreams, listening to one's heart, and reading life's omens features dialogue between a boy and an unnamed being.

By Garth Stein
Recommended By Meghan F., Children's Services Librarian
With Ed Goldberg, Head of Reference, Lisa Jones, Readers' Services Librarian, Sonia Grgas, Health Reference Librarian, Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

“He Said, She Said” Book Discussion
Join us for a special evening to celebrate a year of great books and discussions.

Monday, December 19, 2011. 7:30 PM.

Nearing the end of his life, Enzo, a dog with a philosopher’s soul, tries to bring together the family, pulled apart by a three year custody battle between daughter Zoe’s maternal grandparents and her father Denny, a race car driver.

By Elizabeth Gilbert

Shares the author’s wisdom and thoughts on creativity, offering insight into inspiration and discussing the attitudes, approaches, and habits needed to live a creative life.

By Liz Murray
With Jackie Ranaldo, Head of Readers' Services

Monday, September 9, 2013.  7 PM.

"The author offers an emotional account of her amazing journey from a 15-year-old living on the streets and eating garbage to her acceptance into Harvard, a feat that prompted a Lifetime movie and a successful motivational-speaking career (From the Publisher)."

*A 2011 Alex Award Winner

By Richard Paul Evans
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

“The Carousel is about what happens when life doesn't turn out the way that we planned. Beyond a love story, it is about faith, loyalty, and sacrifice (From the Publisher).”

By Jack Canfield

Gathers stories of true love, courtship, commitment, intimacy, family life, love at first sight, and enduring marriages.

By Melody Carlson
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

“Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless … When a secondhand red coat unexpectedly lands her a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, Lena finally thinks her luck is changing. But can she keep her past a secret (From the Publisher).”

By Melody Carlson
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

“When an abandoned dog finds its way to Betty Kowalski's house during the Christmas season, she reluctantly takes it in and learns that Christmas is truly the season of giving (From the Publisher).”

By Richard Paul Evans
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

"A successful but heartless businessman sees his own obituary in the newspaper after a case of mistaken identity, setting in motion a 109 of events that profoundly changes the lives of several people who have suffered due to his ruthless business practices (From the Publisher)."

By Shilpa Raj
Recommended By Neela Vass, Head of Acquisitions

When you are a female born into a poor Indian family, the odds are already stacked greatly against you. The human drama captured in this memoir is nothing short of amazing - a young woman's struggle between the two worlds of her existence. Saved by her grandmother from being killed at birth for being a female, and abandoned by her mother at a young age, Shilpa faces the formidable constraints placed on her by her family and the village elders. The values with which she is being brought up in a school for poor children started by a philanthropist come in conflict with those of her family, tearing each other apart. Just when all seems settled, an unforeseen death under mysterious circumstances shatters whatever stability remains in her life. Pulled in opposite directions, and torn between despair and dreams, Shilpa finally makes a choice for her escape. But is she strong enough to stand up to the people she loves, and pursue what she wants? At its heart The Elephant Chaser's Daughter is about hope, when all seems lost. Written with raw honesty and grit, this is a deeply moving memoir of a young woman confronting her 'untouchable' status in a caste-based society, and her aspirations for a good future.

By Mitch Albom

Killed in a tragic accident, Eddie, an elderly man who believes that he had an uninspired life, awakens in the afterlife, where he discovers that heaven consists of having five people explain the meaning of one's life.

By Mitch Albom
Recommended By Kalpana Mehta, Reference Librarian

“… retired baseball player Charley "Chick" Benetto-facing the pain of unfulfilled ambitions, alcohol abuse, divorce, and estrangement from a grown daughter-returns to his abandoned childhood home and attempts suicide in a bungling fit of rage. He encounters the spirit of his deceased mother, Pauline "Posey" Benetto, who Chick thoughtlessly took for granted … (Publisher’s Weekly).”

By Jean Kwok
Recommended By Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian, Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk

A resolute yet naïve Chinese girl confronts poverty and culture shock with equal zeal when she and her mother immigrate to Brooklyn.

By Richard Paul Evans
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

“Presents an inspirational tale of hope, love, and faith set during the holiday season of 1962, as portrayed in the lost innocence of a young girl running away from her abusive stepfather and a boy determined to protect her (From the Publisher).”

By Diane Hammond
Recommended By Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk

“Having devotedly cared for a lone elephant at a dilapidated zoo for more than forty years, Samson hopes to be able to retire when he hires promising assistant Neva, who forces Samson to acknowledge that the elephant also needs the company of her kind (From the Publisher).”

By Gretchen Craft Rubin
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services, Sonia Grgas, Reference Librarian

"Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project (From the Publisher)."

By Mitch Albom
Recommended By Marie McLaughlin, Head of Circulation

“Have a Little Faith is a book about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story (From the Publisher).”

By Francine Rivers
Series Marta's Legacy
Recommended By Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian

“The first in an epic two-book saga, this sweeping story explores the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters over several generations… Each woman is forced to confront her faulty but well-meaning desire to help her daughter find her God-given place in the world (From the Publisher).”

By Dan Walsh
Recommended By Marie McLaughlin, Head of Circulation

“A reluctant war hero returns home and encounters a new chance at love….Dan Walsh does not disappoint in this tender story of family ties and the healing of a broken heart (From the Publisher).”  

By Elizabeth Bettina
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

Take a journey with the author as she discovers much to her surprise, that her grandparent's small village, nestled in the heart of southern Italy, housed an internment camp for Jews during the Holocaust, and that it was far from the only one.

By Richard Bach

More concerned with the dynamics of his flight than with gathering food, Jonathan is scorned by the other seagulls.

By Richard Bach
Recommended By Amy B., Children's Librarian

A redesigned edition of the inspirational classic follows the self-discovery journey of a bird whose love for flight and determination to follow his heart enables him to exceed his potential and become a model for other misfits.

By Randy Pausch
Recommended By Brenda Cherry, Reference Librarian

“Over the years, numerous professors have given talks entitled "The Last Lecture." For Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, however, the topic was no mere formality... he already knew that he had metastatic pancreatic cancer (From Barnes and Noble).”

By Lisa Genova
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services, Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian, Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk
With Lisa Jones, Readers' Services Librarian

Tuesday, August 30, 2011. 1 PM & 7:30 PM.

In the prime of her life, a woman's fate takes a tragic turn when a devastating car accident leaves her crippled with a debilitating brain disorder.

By David Kushner
Recommended By Amy B., Children's Librarian

“… Levittown is a story of hope and fear, invention and rebellion, and the power that comes when ordinary people take an extraordinary stand… (From the Publisher).”

By Richard Paul Evans
Series The Locket
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

“An ex-minister, sometime gambler, and fugitive from justice, Hunter Bell comes to the aid of Quaye MacGandley, a beautiful young Irish woman, abused and abandoned by a brutal husband, and together these two lost and wounded people find a way to bring healing to each other (From the Publisher).”

By Gary Chapman
Recommended By Isabel Zinman, Readers' Services Librarian

“Christian marriage counselor Chapman has written this guide for anyone, regardless of religious or spiritual persuasion, who wants to become loving and compassionate. Chapman focuses on seven traits-kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty-as foundations for loving relationships, challenging readers to develop them as habits for everyday living (From Library Journal).”

By Brooke Ellison

A memoir focusing on the trials and tribulations of functioning in the world as a quadriplegic.

By Ellie Laks
Recommended By Sue Ann R., Head of Children's Services

“Traces the uplifting story of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit animal rescue that has saved hundreds of creatures from unsafe conditions, describing how the author and shelter volunteers rehabilitate their charges, many of whom become companions for at-risk inner-city and special-needs children (From the Publisher).”

By Larry Levin
Recommended By Sue Ann R., Head of Children's Services

“…Heartwarming and redemptive, OOGY is the story of the people who were determined to rescue this dog against all odds, and of the family who took him home, named him "Oogy" (an affectionate derivative of ugly), and made him one of their own (From the Publisher).”

By Richard Paul Evans
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

“Laid off from his sales rep job, Robert Paul decides to pursue his dream of becoming a writer and unexpectedly pens a best seller, but when his new world compromises his marriage, he receives unexpected guidance from a stranger who has an uncanny knowledge about his life and future (From the Publisher).”

By Richard Paul Evans
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

"Beth Cardall faces the need to reveal a secret she has been keeping for eighteen years since Christmas Day of 1989, when she encountered a mysterious, handsome stranger named Matthew who changed the course of her life (From the Publisher)."

By Dan Walsh
Recommended By Marie McLaughlin, Head of Circulation

“Aaron Miller, once appreciated for his heroics in battle, now works in obscurity as a handyman, but discovers that the love that he lost can be restored (From the Publisher).”

By Tracy Kidder
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk, Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

“The “master of the non-fiction narrative” gives us the inspiring account of one man’s remarkable American journey and of the ordinary people who helped him — a brilliant testament to the power of will (From the Publisher).”

By Richard Paul Evans
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

"After her fiance calls off their marriage a week before the wedding, heartbroken Christine Hollister reluctantly agrees to accompany her friend Jessica to Peru to do volunteer work in an orphanage, where she meets American doctor Paul Cook (From the Publisher)."

By Theresa Caputo

Blending together personal stories, compelling anecdotes, and client readings, the star of TLC's Long Island Medium shares her world and her gift of communicating with those who have crossed over to the other side.

By Greg Mortenson
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

Dangerously ill after his attempt to climb K2, the world’s second tallest mountain, Greg Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe. In return, he promised to build the impoverished town’s first school, as project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.

By Mitch Albom
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

“Given one last chance at redemption, Father Time, the inventor of the world’s first clock, must teach two earthly people the true meaning of time - a journey that leads him to a teenage girl who is about to give up on life and a wealthy businessman who wants to live forever.”

By Andy Andrews

At a low point in his life, David Ponder finds himself traveling back in time to meet with some of the wisest people in history in this modern day parable of choice, success, and the true meaning of life.

By Mitch Albom
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

A sportswriter conveys the wisdom of his late mentor, professor Morrie Schwartz, recounting their weekly conversations as Schwartz lay dying.

Became the movie: Tuesdays With Morrie.

By Dean Karnazes
Recommended By Megan Kass, Systems Manager

“Many would see running a marathon as the pinnacle of their athletic career; thrill-seeker Karnazes didn't just run a marathon, he ran the first marathon held at the South Pole (Publishers Weekly).”

By Lauren Hillenbrand
Recommended By Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk, Jean Buchholtz, Library Clerk
With Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

Tuesday, October 16.  7:30 PM.

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashes into the Pacific and Lt. Louis Zamperini survives. Captured by the Japanese and driven to the limits of endurance, he would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor.

By Richard Paul Evans
Recommended By Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

When his partner betrays him and his wife dies, an inconsolable Alan Christoffersen leaves most of his worldly possessions behind and sets off on a soul searching journey from Washington to Florida.